Gipsy Moon: world rhythms, local roots

There’s something magical to music, something about the way melodies and words combine with memories to evoke emotions. The feelings imparted by music are ethereal, transitory and yet somehow deeply powerful.

The power of music can be felt through recordings but nothing quite compares to the raw emotion experienced as an artist pours their heart and soul into a live performance. The pain or joy, echoed by those gathered in attendance and magnified by their presence, is that much more intense as artist and crowd feed off each other, building something which is, in its way, impossible without the physical presence of both parties.

Grand County residents and visitors to the high country will get exactly that chance this weekend as the Divide Music Festival (DMF) kicks off today in Winter Park. The Divide Music Festival features an eclectic mix of artists from a range of genres. Headlining the event are nationally known artists like Kid Cudi, the Fray, Cake and Blondie. The three-day festival will also feature a number of lesser-known artists, many with Colorado roots.

When Gipsy Moon takes the Peak Stage Sunday afternoon the five member indie-folk band will feel right at home. Gipsy Moon spends much of their year touring throughout the American west and Midwest but the bluegrass and world-rhythm inspired musicians call the Nederland/Eldora area home.

The group just recently returned home from a lengthy tour schedule and has been resting for the past few days as they prepare for the DMF. “It is nice to be home,” said Mackenzie Page, Gipsy Moon guitarist and vocalist. Page also plays tenor banjo for the band. “We are feeling great.”

Page and her fellow performers will appear at the DMF’s Peak Stage at 4:15 p.m. Sunday July 24. Playing right along side Page will be Gipsy Moon’s other members: Silas Herman performing mandolin, guitar and vocals; Matt Cantor performing bass and vocals; Andrew Conley performing cello and percussionist Omar Altabal.

If you are unfamiliar with Gipsy Moon you can check out a number of their songs on Youtube. The band also recently released a new album titled “Sticks Stones”. Page described Gipsy Moon’s musical genre as “indie-folk” heavily influenced by unique musical styling and rhythms from around the world.

“We definitely enjoy a lot of different kinds of music,” Page said. “You can see that in our music. We take things from all over the world; ideas, melodies.” As the name Gipsy Moon implies the band often employs traditional melodies from eastern European communities, Arabic societies and historic folk songs from places like Russia; societies famous for nomadic peoples with a melancholy nostalgia for anachronistic ways of life.

Likewise Gipsy Moon’s music, though often upbeat, carries that same feeling of nostalgia; that same sense of longing for a place we might never have been. “We are inspired by old things,” said Page. “History and music.”

After performing at the DMF Gipsy Moon will continue touring the high Rockies in Colorado. The band will return to perform in Winter Park August 11 and 12 as part of the SolShine Music Festival.

Gipsy Moon has been together for roughly four years, with a few different members leaving and joining the band over that course of time. The band recently added percussionist Omar Altabal in May. They spend between 40 and 60 percent of their year touring. The band is just starting to develop a new album and will be busy touring the rest of this summer and early fall.